Johannes Berauer composer

Johannes Berauer is without doubt one of the most productive as diverse young composers and performers of the country. Born 1979 he studied composition and jazz piano at the New England Conservatory and Berklee College in Boston, and at the Anton Bruckner University Linz. His teachers were inter alia Bob Brookmeyer, Lee Hyla, Christoph Cech and Gunter Waldek. Johannes Berauer is equally settled in the genres of contemporary music and jazz, which numerous collaborations prove. What distinguishes him here is a skill that is expressive and accessible. The thematic work in polyphonic structures and the modern funeral march in his Piano Trio No. 1 show - as in other works - his technical ability and differential expression. Berauer also demands a lot from his performers, yet not for the sake of the virtuosic effect, but rather for a better sound. His melodic jazz, which he writes for larger ensembles or his own eponymous trio, is preferably melancholic. Berauer also takes an emotional path in his Carpe Noctem (seize the night) for mixed choir and jazz orchestra. The choir spread in the entire church sings about the natural cycle of life and animates with lyrics by Ilse Aichinger, Rainer Maria Rilke and others to reflect. Just as varied as his work, so are his commissioners and performers. They range from Benjamin Schmid and Kirill Kobantschenko to the Eggner Trio, Brillaner Duo, Willi Resetarits, Paul Gulda or Jazz ensembles like the Jazzwerkstatt Graz and the Jazzorchester Vorarlberg. In 2008 he composed the music for the Linzer Klangwolke, a multi-media open air event attended by 95000 people. In 2011 received the commission for Bruckner Festival opening work performed by the Bruckner Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies. Other orchestras such as Camerata New York, Juniper Chamber Orchestra, NEC Chamber Orchestra or Orchestra Jazz de la Sardegna have performed his music. Over the years he has received numerous prizes and scholarships such as the Gustav Mahler Prize 2000, a Fulbright Scholarship 2007, Anton Bruckner Stipend 2009, Scrivere in Jazz 2010. There are quite a few recordings of Berauer’s music available by now. In spring 2013 he plans to release a CD under his own name, with Wolfgang Muthspiel as a soloist and a combination of fine classical and jazz musicians from Austria, Germany and the U.K.

Manuela Kerer composer

Manuela Kerer is an Italian composer currently living in Innsbruck, who grew up in Südtirol with German as her mother tongue. Although she managed to accomplish completed studies in composition, psychology, law and violin (instrumental education), nothing grips her heart like music, so she is currently dedicating more and more of her time to composition. Her dynamic approach, which draws quirky influences from her multi-faceted career is strongly evident in her composition palette where she draws as freely from neuropsychological processes as from things that make her laugh. She belongs to the youngest emerging generation of composers in Austria being born in Brixen, 1980. She finished her composition studies with honour in 2007 (Prof. M. Lichtfuss, further studies with Prof. A. Solbiati, Milan) after getting her degrees in violin- instrumental education (2004), law (2004) and psychology (2005). Manuela Kerer has composed works for ensembles such as „die reihe“, „ascolta“, „Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie“, „Camerata Europaea“ or master musicians like Julius Berger or Bojidara Kouzmanova; her music has been performed at such festivals as Klangspuren Schwaz, Asiagofestival, Transart International Festival for Contemporary Music Moscow, Wien Modern, A*DEvantgarde Munich, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, in the Berlin Konzerthaus or the Frankfurt New Opera, in New York or at Lake Titicaca. In 2009 Kerer was elected one of “100 young creative talents of Europe” from the European Committee of the Regions. She got several awards like “intellectually gifted- award” (Rotary 2007), Austrian State Grant for composition (2008 and 2011), “Walther-von-der-Vogelweide” prize 2009, Theodor Körner prize 2011, SKE Publicity Prize 2011, Emil Berlanda prize 2011. Kerer describes herself as a realistic person, who thinks that a good cost-effective approach with composition is important. You need to make certain compromises, as the time for both ensembles and commissions can be very short. Perhaps it is partly this pragmatism that is helping her quickly amount to an innovative and interesting sound practice.

Thomas Wally composer

Born in 1981 in Vienna, Austria, Thomas Wally studied composition with Erich Urbanner and Chaya Czernowin and violin with Josef Hell at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, graduating in 2008 with distinction (violin and composition). In 2005/2006 he spent an exchange year at the Sibelius-Akatemia Helsinki as a student of Paavo Heininen, where his violin teachers were Erkki Kantola and Päivyt Meller. He attended violin masterclasses with Hanna Weinmeister and Volkhard Steude (Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic). In Spring 2004, Thomas Wally won an internal composition competition for string quartet at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with his “4 Bagatelles for String Quartet.” In 2005 he was a finalist of the Jeunesses Musicales composition competition in Bucharest with his piece “Verästelungen” for 19 solo-strings. 2008, he won the 3rd prize in the international music+culture composition competition with his piano solo piece “impressions...en relief.” In 2009 Thomas Wally received the Austrian State Scholarship for Composition and won the Helmut Sohmen Composition Competition with his violin concerto “... und ein einziger Ton weinte in einem Frühling ...” . In 2010 he performed the piece as soloist with the Academy Symphony Orchestra in Hong Kong. In October, 2010 Mr. Wally received the Outstanding Artist Award from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture. He was one of the main composers at the Wien Modern Festival 2010. 2011/2012 he is composer in residence of the Wiener Concert-Verein. In 2012 he again received the Austrian State Scholarship for Composition. His music has been performed in Vienna (Wien Modern 2008 and 2010), Bregenz (Bregenzer Festspiele 2008), Innsbruck (Klangspuren 2009), Bratislava (Orfeus 2006), Berlin (Ultraschall Festival 2009), Cambridge, Moscow, Rome, Helsinki, Hong Kong and New York by ensembles such as Ensemble Reconsil, Ensemble Wiener Collage, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, ensemble LUX, Trio EIS, Wiener Concert-Verein, Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band, Studio for New Music Ensemble Moscow and Academy Symphony Orchestra Hong Kong. He is currently writing a new string quartet for the Hugo Wolf Quartett, to be performed in the Schubert Saal (Wiener Konzerthaus) and in New York in 2013. As a violinist, Mr. Wally dedicates himself primarily to the performance of contemporary music. He plays on a regular basis with Ensemble Reconsil, Ensemble Wiener Collage, Phace ⎢contemporary music, ensemble LUX and Klangforum Wien. Since 2002, Mr. Wally is subsitute at the Vienna Philharmonic and had several contracts at the Vienna State Opera.

Charlotte Bray composer

Charlotte Bray began composing only eight years ago, when 21 years old, but has already bagged an impressive series of commissions (Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Verbier among others) and emerged as one of the outstanding composing talents of her generation.” (The Evening Standard’s 1000 Most Influential Londoners) Bray studied under Joe Cutler and graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire with First Class Honours. Then, under Mark Anthony Turnage, she completed her Masters at the Royal College of Music in 2008 gaining a Distinction. She also studied at Tanglewood Music Centre in 2008, and in 2011 was made an Honorary Member of Birmingham Conservatoire. She was born in Britain in 1982 and currently lives in Berlin. For 2012, Bray looks forward to writing a short opera for Tête à Tête Festival in London, and a chamber work for Daniel Hope and Savanna Music Festival (2013). Commissioned by Verbier Festival, Invisible Cities will be premièred in July by Lawrence Power and Julien Quentin. Other performances include Verre de Venise (tenor song cycle) in West Cork Festival, and Beneath the Dawn Horizon with Southbank Sinfonia under Jonathan Berman. Oxford Lieder Festival named Bray as their first ever Composer-in-Residence in 2011, featuring several performances of her work, including a première by British baritone Roderick Williams. Cheltenham Festival saw the première of Replay, a piano quartet composed as a result of winning the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize. A highlight of the year was the performance of Scenes from Wonderland by Jennifer Pike and the LPO, a cocommission from the orchestra and London Music Masters. During Bray’s residency with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (2009/10), Alexandra Wood premiered her violin concerto Caught in Treetops under Oliver Knussen. The concerto also appeared in Aldeburgh Festival’s closing concert of 2011. Other notable performances include Beyond a Fallen Tree by the LSO (UBS Soundscapes Pioneers commission) under Daniel Harding; Verre de Venise in Aldeburgh, Aix-en-Provence, and Verbier - a cocommission from the three festivals; and her soprano cycle Midnight Closes, which has been performed on numerous occasions including Wigmore Hall, Holywell Music Room (Oxford), Music in the Round (Sheffield), and the Purcell Room.

Gavin Higgins composer

Born in Gloucestershire in 1983, Gavin grew up in the Forest of Dean beginning his musical life in the local brass band. Gavin has studied at Chethams School of Music, The Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal College of Music (supported by the AHRC and Douglas and Hilda Simmonds Awards), studying with Gary Carpenter and Ken Hesketh, graduating from a Masters Degree in 2009. Gavin has written music for some of the UK's finest orchestras and ensembles, such as; Rage Dances for members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Dancing At The Edge Of Hell for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and While Time Quietly Kills Them for the Manchester Camerata Orchestra. Other commissions include Urban Fairy Tales, performed as part of the Rising Star Series at the Cadogan Hall, Mechanical Cabaret as part of the Exhibition Road Music Day Festival and Fanfares and Love Songs written for the National Children's Band of Great Britain. Recently he has had music performed by Liverpool Philharmonic's Ensemble 10:10, Rambert Orchestra, Maria Marchant, Mark Simpson, Brett Baker, The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Manchester Camerata and the Black Dyke Mills Band. Among other successes A Forest Symphony, commissioned by the Voices in the Forest Festival was selected for the wind and brass section of the British Composer Awards in 2008, his ballet Jeremiah, choreographed by Dane Hurst, was performed by the Rambert Dance Company at the Royal Opera House, Linbury Theatre and ENDGAME was commissioned by the Cheltenham festival for the Flotilla Saxophone Quartet. Gavin was also the Inaugural Music Fellow to the Rambert Dance Company. Upcoming performances include a new commission for 2012 BBC Proms Season, the London premiere of What Wild Ecstasy at Sadler’s Wells as part of New Music 20X12 and new works for Rafal Luc and Tempest Flute Trio.

Luke Styles composer

Born in 1982, Luke Styles is a UK based composer currently the Glyndebourne Young Composer in Residence and part of the PRSF New Music Incubator Scheme. He moved to the United Kingdom in 2001, to pursue a BMus (composition) degree at the Royal Academy of Music, following which he completed a postgraduate degree with Detlev Müller-Siemens in Vienna and then a second postgraduate degree with Prof. Wolfgang Rihm in Karlsruhe, Germany. Luke returned to the UK to study with George Benjamin at Kings College London on an Association for Cultural Exchange Study Tours Scholarship, completed in 2009. Luke has been the recipient of numerous awards and commissions including, the Wolfgang-Rihm scholarship 2008, DAAD scholarship for 06/07, PRSF New Works commission, RVW Trust commission, Britten-Pears Foundation funding, Exposure Dance ROH2 commission, Sonic Arts Network Expo 2005 commission. Luke’s music has been played throughout the world with radio broadcasts on the ACB, BBC, and SWR2, at festivals such as the, Wien Modern, Aldeburgh Festival, Deal Festival, Tete a Tete Opera Festival, Darbar Festival, Berio Omaggio and the Karlsruhe Silent Film Festival. Luke has worked with the London Sinfonietta and attended courses such as the Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music, European Choral Composers Course, the 2010/2011 Jerwood Opera Writing Programme and presented work at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Luke is also a freelance lecturer, director of Ensemble Amorpha and currently teaches composition at the Junior Trinity College of Music. Recent and upcoming performances include the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Glyndebourne. He is also a regular guest at the Austrian Cultural Forum in the framework of the Global Austria concert series with his Ensemble Amorpha.

The Fidelio Trio

The ‘virtuosic Fidelio Trio’ (Sunday Times) are Darragh Morgan, violin, Robin Michael, cello and Mary Dullea, piano. They perform extremely diverse repertoire throughout Europe, Asia and South Africa. Broadcasts include regular appearances on BBC Radio 3 as well as RTÉ Lyric FM, WNYC and Radio New Zealand. They are currently being filmed by Sky Arts as part of a TV documentary. Since their South Bank debut they have appeared at Reggello Festival and Contemporaneamente Festival, Lodi (Italy), West Cork Music, Belfast Festival at Queens, Royal Opera House, London, Corsham Festival, Petworth Festival, FuseLeeds, Casa da Musica (Porto) and Composer’s Choice Series, National Concert Hall, Dublin.

2009 highlights included a concert tour of China with an appearance at Shanghai’s prestigious Oriental Arts Centre, a sold-out performance at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, ORF TV broadcast from Die Alte Schmiede, Vienna and they made their Wigmore Hall debut (Live concert highlights of 2009, www.musicalcriticism.com). In their native Ireland, they undertook a mini-residency at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, with their innovative new “Schumann+” series.

The Fidelio Trio are closely associated with a diverse range of leading composers including Toshio Hosokawa, Howard Skempton, Charles Wuorinen, Gerald Barry, Johannes Maria Staud, Piers Hellawell and their extensive repertoire of premieres includes music by Salvatore Sciarrino, Edison Denisov, Beat Furrer and Toru Takemitsu. They are Music Network artists and are supported by PRS (Performing Rights Society) for Music Foundation, Culture Ireland and the Arts Council of Ireland.

2010/2011 highlights include their US debut tour with appearances at New York’s Symphony Space and MIT, Boston, a tour of South Africa and Botswana, a Moving on Music tour of Ireland and two Scottish tours, multiple UK appearances including The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival as well as 3 CD releases.

Darragh Morgan violin

Irish violinist Darragh Morgan has collaborated with many leading composers including Arvo Part, Michael Nyman, Sir John Tavener, Gavin Bryars, Kevin Volans and Michael Finnissy. He has made concerto appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Ulster Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, KZN Philharmonic South Africa, Koln Kammer Orkest, Istanbul Symphony Orchestra and Cyprus Chamber Orchestra. International festival appearances include Wien Modern, Bang on a Can Marathon New York, Lucerne Festival, BBC Proms Chamber Music, Aldeburgh, Spitalfields and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. He is a member of the Fidelio Trio with whom has appeared at the Wigmore Hall, Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Casa da Musica Porto and Symphony Space New York and was previously violinist with The Smith Quartet with whom he made an acclaimed recording of Philip Glass' complete string quartets. Darragh has recorded over 25 CDs for labels including NMC, Naxos, Delphian, Mode, Black Box and Nimbus. He has appeared as guest leader of Ensemble Modern, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, London Sinfonietta, Musik Fabrik and Remix Ensemble. Darragh is professor of violin and chamber music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

Robin Michael cello

Robin Michael made his South Bank debut to critical acclaim in 2003 and has recently premiered Joe Cutler's cello concerto as well as giving the UK premiere of Steve Reich's cello counterpoint and the Korean premiere of Jonathan Harvey's Advaya for cello and electronics. Robin is regular guest principal cellist with Orchestra Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Academy of Ancient Music. Recordings include the Cutler Concerto with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Ginastera complete cello works. Recent festival appearances include Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Huddersfield, Spier (South Africa), KLARA (Belgium) and Library of Congress (Washington). He is a member of the Fidelio Trio.

Mary Dullea piano

As soloist and chamber musician, Irish pianist Mary Dullea has built an impressive reputation as a performer and commissioner of new music. She has performed throughout Ireland, England, Europe, USA, China and South Africa at festivals including Brighton, Huddersfield, Aldeburgh, Reggello (Italy), FuseLeeds, Petworth and National Arts Festival (South Africa).

Mary broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Lyric FM and is on the teaching staff of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She is currently completing a PhD in Performance at the University of Ulster, focusing on the use of the inside of the piano.

Since 2008, Mary has curated Soundings in collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Forum London. This included a recital at the Wigmore Hall with her piano trio, The Fidelio Trio (December 2009) whose 2 CDs were received with critical acclaim: Bulb (Irish piano trios) on NMC and Metamorphoses (chamber music of Haflidi Hallgrimsson) on Delphian Records.

Rhona McKail soprano

Rhona McKail studies with John Evans and completed her training on the GSMD opera course in 2009 where she gained MMus and MMP degrees. Prior to that she received a BA Hons (Musical Studies) from the RSAMD. Most recently Rhona was on tour with Opera Della Luna singing Hanna in The Merry Widow and last autumn she covered and performed the role of Eurydice in Orpheus and the Underworld for Scottish Opera. Other roles Rhona has performed include: Angel 1 in Luke Bedford’s new opera Seven Angels for the Opera Group; Servillia in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito for English Touring Opera; Fiordiligi In Cosi fan Tutte for Vignette Opera in Provence and London; Adele in Die Fledermaus, Constance in The Sorcerer and Josephine in HMS Pinafore for Opera Della Luna; Ortensia (cover) in Mirandolina by Martinů for Garsington Opera; Gianetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, Lisette (cover) in La Rondine, and Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress by Stravinsky all for British Youth Opera; and Rezia in La Rencontre Imprévue by Gluck, Anne Who Steals in The King goes forth to France by Sallinen, Agafya in The Marriage by Martinů, all for GSMD Opera. Rhona has enjoyed the privilege of studying and performing with distinguished artists which include: - Graham Johnson; Iain Burnside; Sir Thomas Allen; Eugene Asti; Yvonne Kenny; Catherine Bott; Malcolm Martineau; Philip Langridge; Ann Murray; François le Roux; Daniel Taylor and Sir Timothy West. She has performed in many of the UK’s most prestigious venues, including: Wigmore Hall; St. Martin in the Fields; Cadogan Hall; Barbican Hall; and the Birmingham Symphony Hall. She performed in a Park Lane Group recital in the Purcell Room with Yshani Perinpanayagam. Rhona has also enjoyed performing regularly in concerts with Sholto Kynoch for the Oxford Lieder Festival and recorded Messiaen’s La Mort du Nombre with him and Kaoru Yamada for Stone Records. Broadcasts have included a programme for BBC Radio 4 with Robin Bowman and In Tune with Iain Burnside on BBC Radio 3. After winning a prestigious Samling scholarship in 2006, Rhona has excelled in the Maggie Teyte French Song competition winning the Miriam Lycette Scholarship, she was the winner of the Association of English Speakers and Singers Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition and won second prize in the London Handel Festival’s Handel Singing competition. Rhona and is looking forward to making her debut for Opera Holland Park in summer 2012.

Thomas Frey flute

Having studied with Norbert Girlinger at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, Thomas Frey completed his flute studies with distinction in 2003. However, he continued studies with Wolfgang Schulz and in addition, he attended Masterclasses with Robert Aitken, Walter Auer, Pierre-Yves Artaud, Erwin Klambauer, Ernst Kovacic, Matthias Ziegler and participated in the International Ensemble Modern Academy 2004 (as part of the Klangspuren Schwaz). In particular, his interest for contemporary chamber music led to his participation in internationally renowned festivals such as the Bregenz Festival, the Carinthian Summer Festival, Wien Modern and quantum jumps at the Center for Art and Media Technology (ZKM) in Karlsruhe and Cologne Music Computing. He is a regular visiting artist with the Klangforum Wien and has been involved in intriguing projects at Salzburg Festival, Darmstadt summer courses, Ruhr Triennale, the Venice Biennale, Wien Modern, Sacrum Profanum in Krakow and the Territory Festival in Moscow. Since 2009 he has been a member of the Vienna Art Orchestra.

Cian O'Duill viola

Cork born viola player Cian Ó Dúill has performed with the Vanbrugh, Carducci and Calino String Quartets, the Avalon Ensemble, Chroma and The Crash Ensemble. He has played in chamber music recitals with Anthony Marwood, Howard Shelley, Patricia Rozario, Natalie Clein, Benjamin Frith, and with members of the Leopold String Trio, the Nash Ensemble and Schubert Ensemble and has appeared at Cheltenham, Warwick Arts, Chichester, Aldeburgh, Wye Valley, Kings Lynn, Sligo Spring, and West Cork Chamber Music Festivals. Cian was a founder member of both the Regent String Quartet and the Rothko String Trio. He is a member of the Oriel Trio (flute, viola and harp) and of the Chamber Players, a London based string sextet with whom he has recorded music by Mozart and Brahms. Concerto appearances include works by Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Bruch and Hindemith in Ireland, the UK and Spain. Cian is a member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, is co-principal viola with the London Mozart Players and has a busy freelance orchestral career playing regularly with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Camerata Ireland, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique.

Kira Doherty horn

After having completed a Bachelor’s degree at the Conservatoire de Musique à Montréal, Kira Doherty crossed over to London to complete her postgraduate level studies with honours at the Royal Academy of Music under the tuition of international soloists Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins. Kira has performed with such noted orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Irish Chamber Orchestra for which she has appeared as guest principal. She has recently appeared as soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Acadeny of Music Symphony Orchestra and has recorded on the albums of Snow Patrol and Sigur Ros. She has long been involved in the contemporary music scene and has premiered many new works from composers such as Thomas Adès, John Adams, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Esa-Pekka Salonen amongst others. Ms Doherty is currently working and living in London.

Sabine Zwick saxophone and clarinet

Sabine Zwick was born in Villach (Austria) and completed her clarinet studies with Alfred Prinz with a diploma with honours at the Wiener Musikhochschule. After that she was concentrating on the saxophone and visiting workshops with Jean-Marie Londeix in Italy and Germany. She is foundation member of the Vienna Saxophone Quartet and since then developed an intensive work on contemporary music. She regularly is performing with Viennese Ensembles and Orchestras, as orchestra member as well as a soloist (Ensemble Reconsil, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Kammerorchester, Klangforum Wien, Niederösterreichische Tonkünstler, Volksoper Wien, ...). CD- and radio recordings include performances with the Vienna Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Reconsil and other ensembles.